The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-03-23
HOTEL HORROR
Burning Of the New Richmond House at Buf-
islO, New York, Yesterday Morning.
The Rapid Spreading Of tie Flames Cuts Of
the Means CT Escape,
And Scores Of the Guests Are Compelled to
Leap ioT Their Lives.
Thrilling Experiences Of Some Of the Survivors
Of tie Awful Calamity,
my Ged the Pecp'e Lay on the Roof All
About Me-"
One Of she propristors, Els Wife and Little
Girl Barely Sav.d.
Seven Lfyes LOst-kore Tnan Twenty Injured
Seriously in Various Ways.
Eke Night Engineers story-What the
Clerk observation-disclosures by Various
Modes-Fun Details of the Horror.
BURNING oF THE RICHMOND HOTEL.
Several Lives Lost and Many Others
Seriously Injured.

Several Lives Lost and Many Others
Seriously Injured.
BgrFALO, March 1S.-Another calamity
has visited Buffalo. The splendid new
Richmond Hotel, corner Main and Eagle
streets, was totally destroyed by fire early
this morning, together with st. James Hall
and other adjacent property.
The spread of the flames is said to have
been frightful in its rapidity. The eleva-
tor shaft served as fue, and the flames
rushed up to the top floor in very few
minutes. As the guests were aroused and
saw the interior exits cut off they turned
to the windows. They could be seen in
their night clothes, standing out clear and
vivid before the lurid background of the
flames. Their screams were horrible and
they could be heard for blocks The flames
spread to the southeast side of the hotel
first. The fremen did noble work and
confined the fire to the narrow limits of
the three buildings named.
The most distressful part of the disaster
is the loss of several human lives. The
rapidity of the fire, cutting of means of
escape, led some persons to leap for life
from the windows. Others got down the
.ire-escapes or on Hayes ladders, raised by
the fire department. One man, mad with
terror, leaped from thirdstory window,
and was picked up from the stone sidewalk
on Ham street, a mangled and bleeding
corpse. Several who succeeded in making
their escape were badly injured and
burned. ana some of these will probably
die.
There were 125 persons IN the hotel, sew
enty of whom were transient guests, eight
bOardeTs and the remainder porters, bell
boys, the families OF the proprietors and
clerks. twenty-five OF these were rescued
from the windows by the firemen; twenty
two are at the hospitals, and large num-
Der made their escape by other means.
William II. Airport, night clerk, states
that be was sitting in the Office at 3 40
O'Clock when he saw a reflection on the
foor Turning around he discovered a
blaze in the cloak room, directly under the
stairway on the man floor. The flames
at once started up the elevator
shaft with a tremendous force, and
in an incredible short space of time
the interior of the hotel was filed with
smoke and flames. Then terrible scenes
began. The second and third alarms
brought the entire fire department to the
scene, but it was impossible to save any
portion OF the structure. The fire had
reached the roof in less Than FIVE minutes
from the time it was discovered. 1t soon
reached and gutted st. James Hall, occu-
pied as Bunael's Museum, and TIvoli Hall,
adjoining a2d fronting on Washington
street.
The fire, which was under control by 5
O'Clock, was confined to the Richmond
Hotel and maseum property, together with
the saloon OF ames Creighton and the
cigar store o. j. G. Palaico, on the Main
street side. The Main street stores of the
Eicbmond Hotsl were occupied by Ulbrich
& Kingsley, book sellers and stationers:
Peter Paul & Bros, in the same line of
business, and FEller & Townsend, proprie-
tors of the Boston clothing store. The
stocks In these stoces were totally destroyed,
entasling heavy losses.